Las Vegas Wash

Here I am again talking about the Las Vegas Wash. I took some more photos when I went out with Steven the other night. I think I'll discuss how hard these trips have been. I really enjoy cities and structures and decay. So these trips into nature can be compared easily to culture shock. I find myself stumbling around (metaphorically and sometimes literally) with my camera. Water? Trees? Nature? Grass? Fuck, where's the subtle comment on the frailty of society, the crumbling relics of our time, and for that matter the impermanence of things? All I see is an affirmation of the renewal of life, the dominance of life over hardship, the strength of nature.

Oh, I'm being told that those are some of the points of nature photography. My point is that this is all very hard for me. It's another mindset you have to fit into like a new pair of shoes. Please enjoy what I was able to come up with.

My grandest canyon.

We walked into the park late. It was too dark to really see much of anything, and we were just out of range of those pesky streetlamps (for the most part). The wetlands park is just off Boulder Highway. It's relatively tucked away. it's where all the rainwater goes before it drains into lake mead. the wetlands park is simply stop two in rainwater redistribution. Drainage tunnels lead to here which lead to the wash which leads to lake mead. First we photographed a small pond. Then we walked past a pipe sending water out in a great stream. We photographed this. then, in the distance we heard something. Like huge outlet pipes letting out hundreds of gallons of water. We crossed the barricade. I approached the sound. And promptly found myself at the edge of a small canyon. Whitewater ripped through the middle in a continuous flow. It was beautiful. It was the grandest canyon I'd ever seen. It amazed me. It was constructed out of rock and poured cement that the water had cut through. With flashlights, ambient light from the city and the moon we photographed. Here is what I will share.